Instrument mouthpiece



June 4, 1963 J. s. MURANO 3,091,989

INSTRUMENT MOUTHPIECE Filed May 6. 1960 INVENTOR.

(Joseph S Mara/10 BYWW ATTORNEY.

I assists Patented. June a, 1963 section. By referring to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the draw N gg fiig ings, it will be seen that a mouthpiecefor a reed instruxoseph S. Mumuo 318 Milan Ave. younggmwn 0mg ment such as a clarinet has been conceived following the Filed May 6, 1.969, Ser. No. 2 7,383 2 Claims. (Cl. 843$3) This invention relates to an instrument mouthpiece and more particularly to a mouthpiece for use on a clarinet or other reed instrument.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a mouthpiece for a clarinet, or other reed instrument, the tone conveying portion of which is formed with a pair of oppositely disposed recessed channels in its sides to enable the passage of clearer, fuller tones from the reed and lay area of the mouthpiece to the instrument to which it is attached.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a mouthpiece for a clarinet, or other reed instrument wherein the tone conveying passage formed therein includes the usual generally rectangular tone conveying portion leading from the reed and lay area of the mouthpiece to the tubular body portion thereof and has the heretofore straight vertical side walls of said tone conveying portion cut away longitudinally to form tone improving channels.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a mouthpiece for a clarinet, or other reed instrument the inner tone conveying channel of which is formed in a cross sectionally cruciform or cross shape to enable the passage of clear, rounder, fuller tones from the reed and lay area of the mouthpiece to the tubular body thereof.

The invention disclosed herein resides in the design of the inner tone conveying passageway of a mouthpiece for a clarinet, or other reed instrument, the design differing from the mouthpiece construction heretofore known in the art primarily in the formation of the tone conveying passageway with a pair of oppositely disposed passageway widening channels in its longitudinal sides which enable the tone passageway to convey tones of a greater frequency range than heretofore thought possible.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention re sides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the mouthpiece in inverted position.

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation on line 22 of FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2.

By referring to the drawings and FIGURE 1 in particular it will be seen that an improved mouthpiece for a reed instrument, such as a clarinet, has been conceived and designed following a conventional pattern with the exception of the formation of the mouth engaging portion thereof which is formed in accordance with the disclosure of my patent, No. 2,411,692 of November 26, 1946. As disclosed in said patent the mouth engaging portion of the mouthpiece illustrated in FIGURE 1 includes a smaller, thinner formation enabling the musician to hold the mouthpiece between his teeth while his mouth is in a normally near closed position and thereby avoiding the tension that occurs when the mouth engaging portion of an instrument mouthpiece is formed with a relatively thick disclosure of my aforesaid patent with the marked exception of the formation of the tone conveying passageway therethrough. In FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 the body portion 10 of the mouthpiece will be seen to be tapered longitudinally exteriorally while defining a cylindrical bore 11 therethrough. The body portion 10 has an extension 12 of reduced diameter which enables the mouthpiece to be telescopically affixed to the particular instrument with which it is employed. A bushing 13 of resilient material, such as cork, is positioned in an annular channel formed in the extension 12 of the mouthpiece in order that a satisfactory joint between the mouthpiece and the instrument to which it is attached may be obtained. By referring to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that a rectangular tone conveying passageway 14 extends from the innermost end of the cylindrical bore 11 of the mouthpiece to the lay area 15 which defines the elongated opening of the mouthpiece over which the reed (not shown) is normally positioned. It will be seen that the tone conveying channel 14 includes a top surface 16 which is concave transversely at its point of junction with the inner end of the cylindrical bore 11 and that it is substantially flat at its outermost end which is at its point of junction with the thin tapered end 17 of the mouthpiece and that said top surface 16 is slightly curved longitudinally. The bottom surface 18 of the tone conveying passageway 14 is substantially transversely flat and is relatively short as it extends from the innermost end of the opening in the lay area 15 to the innermost end of the vertical bore 11. The side walls of the tone conveying passageway 14 are substantially vertical as best seen in FIGURE 2 of the drawings and each has a recessed channel 19, 19 formed therein. Each of the recessed channels 19, which are in oppositely disposed relation to one another, extend from areas of the opening in the lay area 15 to the innermost end of the cylindrical bore 11. The side walls 20 defining the outermost sides of the channels 19, 19 are substantially vertical. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, passageway 14 includes an upper channel between top surface 16 and the tops of channels 19, and further includes a bottom channel between lsottom surface 18 and the bottoms of channels 19. Thus the cross sectional shape of the modified tone conveying passageway 14 extending from the opening in the lay area 15 to the inner end of the cylindrical bore 11 is substantially cruciform or cross shaped as may be best seen in FIGURE 2 of the drawings. The side walls 20 of the recessed oppositely disposed channels 19', 19 are parallel and the formation of the tone conveying passageway 14 as described results in the ability of the same to convey, rounder, fuller musical notes from the reed (not shown) (which is normally positioned on the lay area 15 of the mouthpiece and extends across the opening therein) to the cylindrical bore 11 of the mouthpiece.

It is believed that the formation of the tone conveying passageway 14 and channels 19 as disclosed herein permits the passage of a wider range of tone frequencies than has heretofore been possible in a mouthpiece for a reed instrument. As a result of the passage of a wider range of tone frequencies through the improved mouthpiece, as disclosed herein, the reed instrument on which the improved mouthpiece is used produces a wider range of frequencies particularly in the lower middle frequency range as the tones are noticeably rounder, fuller and more mellow than those produced by an instrument using a mouthpiece without the present invention.

It will thus be seen that the tone conveying passageway 14 modified by the oppositely disposed tone conveying channels 19, 19 formed in the sides thereof forms an instrument mouthpiece meeting the several objects of my invention and having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A mouthpiece for a single reed woodwind instrument, said mouthpiece having a cylindrical bore extending inwardly from one end thereof, the opposite end of said mouthpiece having a conventional reed lay, said mouthpiece having a cruciform passageway extending from said lay to said bore, said cruciform passageway having top, bottom, and side channels, said top channel extending from the tip of said mouthpiece and merging 10 into said bore, said bottom channel extending from a point inwardly of the inner end of said bore outwardly to said lay.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,411,692 Murano Nov. 26, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 655,634 France Dec. 18, 1928 

2. A MOUTHPIECE FOR A SINGLE REED WOODWIND INSTRUMENT, SAID MOUTHPIECE HAVING A CYLINDRICAL BORE EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM ONE END THEREOF, THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID MOUTHPIECE HAVING A CONVENTIONAL REED LAY, SAID MOUTHPIECE HAVING A CRUCIFORM PASSAGEWAY EXTENDING FROM SAID LAY TO SAID BORE, SAID CRUCIFORM PASSAGEWAY HAVING TOP, BOTTOM, AND SIDE CHANNELS, SAID TOP CHANNEL EXTENDING FROM THE TIP OF SAID MOUTHPIECE AND MERGING INTO SAID BORE, SAID BOTTOM CHANNEL EXTENDING FROM A POINT INWARDLY OF THE INNER END OF SAID BORE OUTWARDLY TO SAID LAY. 